The present invention relates to a nut delivery apparatus for a high speed nutcracker and which can be efficiently adjusted to accommodate nuts of different average size.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,332,827; 5,623,867; 6,205,915; 6,270,824; 6,584,890, 6,588,328; and 6,772,680 all disclose a high speed nutcracking apparatus which includes a rotatable turret which mounts a plurality of cracking units arranged about is periphery, with each cracking unit having an opening adapted to receive an individual nut from a feed conveyor which comprises a plurality of nut transport elements mounted in succession on a feed chain. Each of the nut transport elements includes an upwardly open traverse receptacle for holding an individual nut, and each cracking unit on the turret has an anvil which is moved axially into the receptacle at a pick up point so that the nut is engaged between the anvil and a crack die on the other side of the opening.
In operation, the feed conveyor moves tangentially past the rotating turret so that the anvils of the cracking units enter the receptacles of respective nut transport elements at the pick up point and engage and pick up the nut. After the cracking unit and engaged nut have moved away from the pick up point and reach a cracking location, the crack die of the cracking unit is impacted by a shuttle so that the crack die applies an impact to the nut to crack the shell.
As will be apparent, it is important that the nut delivery system be able to deliver a single nut in the receptacle of each nut transport element, and that the nut be oriented with its end to end direction aligned in the receptacle. To achieve this objective, the prior feeding systems include an arrangement to singulate and orient the nuts as they are received in the receptacles of the nut transport elements and as the elements move through the hopper. For example, and as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,915, the hopper includes an orienting deflecting plate which is designed for laterally deflecting the upper portion of any upstanding nuts disposed in each receptacle. To singulate the nuts in each receptacle, there is provided a singulating arm in the form of a wire which extends into a slot in one side of each of the advancing nut transport elements, and which serves to laterally eject any laterally oriented nuts in excess of one from each receptacle. The wire arm is mounted for pivotal adjustment about a mounting pin.
Pecans, for example, vary significantly in size, and they are typically run through a sizing machine prior to cracking so as to separate the nuts into different grades. To adjust the singularizing and orienting arrangement to efficiently process nuts of different sizes, the singulating wire arm as shown in FIG. 3 of the '915 patent is pivotally adjusted to vary the distance the arm extends into the slots of the advancing nut transport elements. Thus for smaller nut grades, the arm is pivoted to extend further into the slots, and for larger grades, the arm is pivoted to extend a lesser extent into the slots.
The adjustment of the singulating wire arm as described above, is not without difficulty, since the arm is often buried under the nuts in the hopper and it is not easily seen or reached. Also, the adjustment must be done on a trial and error basis, and the correctness of the adjustment can only be verified after the machine has been run and the efficacy of the cracking operation has been observed.
A further deficiency of the singulating wire as shown for example in the '915 patent, is the fact that the arm is somewhat flexible and it can be deflected out of the slots by debris in the form of shell fragments which tend to build up in the slots. Finally, the wire arm may be bent and change shape during prolonged use, which further compromises its ability to properly function.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved singulating and orienting means for a nut delivery system of the described type, and which effectively overcomes the above noted limitations and disadvantages of the prior systems.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide a nut singulating arm which is adjustable from a location outside the hopper, and which largely avoids trial and error in determining a proper setting of the position of the arm in the slots of the advancing nut transport elements.
It is still another object to provide a nut singulating arm which is structured to remove shell fragments and other debris from the slots of the nut transport elements, and which is sufficiently strong to resist bending or deflection.